1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a client terminal, which includes a computer terminal, a personal digital assistant, a set-top box, a television receiver, other home electric appliances, and, if necessary, any other on-demand image delivery server when viewed from an applicable server, an on-demand image delivery server delivering, according to a request of the client terminal, any desired image data including static images (regardless of actual taken images or computer-generated images; the same applies to motion pictures), motion pictures, and other images to which audio information is provided, and an image resource database storing image data. It also relates to a method of displaying a retrieval result in an on-demand image delivery system composed of an on-demand image delivery server, an image resource database, and a client server.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays there is available an immensity of image data resources everywhere in the world. For example, broadcasting business operators and picture production companies possess enormous image data resources including those already broadcast, while libraries, schools, art galleries, research organizations or the like possess massive image data resources.
It should be noted that such image data resources are under the management of each owner, and data is neither made public nor its utilization is necessarily sufficiently well employed. Although a variety of potential needs exist, most of the resources are left idle.
Also, lately, it is possible to record large volumes of accessory information with the image data. One of these kinds of data formats includes a meta data format (unified standards of some few hundred items). Consequently, providing services that make effective use of the accessory information is extremely important from the standpoint of increasing the utilization value of the image data resources.